Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-04-22
FAN AND ANT.

alive, course We don't! It's nigh twenty
pear sence he brought her hum. Lord,
how old Ant Lott stormed. | see that old
woman now, runnin' round To the neigh
hors, bemoanin'.
She came through the parstur where l
was haydn with Cy Mullett, m her way
over TO Mis- Potter's. ! hollered out
"Ant!'-LOrd knows why we all called
her ant; she was everything but an ant to
folks-'I hear Charley's gone n got
married"
'.Yes."
IAN to Fan Low?'
slow enough!" seq the old woman.
"Wal, Charley amt SO very high" I
answered rather spitefully, for he was
, the LATEST critter l ever seed.
Hes my youngest, the last o. my
6ock, groaned the old woman; I'D a
worked for him to the eend o. my days;
but now She shook her fist. an what
stween tibet fist n her tears, / couldn't
tep as she was most mad or grieyed,
Twas mad, though. But it didn't
last long on Charley; it all got spited on
poor Fan. Ant was a smart woman, an
lied nothin' better'n to read the papers
n git inter a discussion. Couldn't she
argee, though! The very parSon couldn't
prove he'd a soul, or there was eny
heaven or hell, when Ant Lott helt o.
him. Yes, We say true; he did ree'ize
he was in a kind of hell, then; Lord, yes!
but he wasn't agoin TO let on twas so!
She was sot aginst the gov'ment. n So
ciety, n the church. n eddication, n
fact, bout ~ev'rything goin. Nothin'
was right, n she could prove il wasn't.
] never knew her to low there was but
one thing right in the hull 'yarsal world,
n tibet was God. She hedn't got so low
down as TO say enything aginst Him.
But IF she'd ben paric' herself, she
couldn't have sot down harder on folks
failins. We can imagine inter what kind
O a neest poor Fan zone. Poor Fan.
She'd ben a depo' Gl, tendin' tables
there, n her repetition warn't o the
best.
l alters pited them lepo' gals. Ef eny
D EN- was smilin' "a kinder decent TO a
teller, ten to one they was took advan-
tage of. Plenty o. men mean enough to
try kiss a girl ou' o. brass, cause she
STAINS in a pubic place. never
b'ieved no harm o. Fan. | seed her
once slap a Teller square IN the face fur
an insultin' word. But folks would
have it she waTn't all right, fur she's
given ter foolin' an would Kit poOty
highty-tighty now an then. But lor!
some gals haint no more harm n their
hearts tibet way then a frisky young
lamb. It's the same kind o. bubblin'
over N both.
Fan he'd mighty soft gray eyes. an
when We looked inter 'em an saw her
red lips trenholm z il they wanted ter
larf right out, twas as freshing a sight as
ye'd arsk 10 see. Twas a s'prize :
ev rybUlv when she married Charley.
He warn't known TO We been waitin' on
her. Course his folks all thought sheds
drawn the wool over his ewes. Ant was
wust of all. But nobody, not blind,
could help seein' he's dead in love with
her. | never see SIGH a happy look as
his'n weeks arter the marriage. Ants
railin's To the contras notw i;lstandin'!
She began on tibet. with a never-to-be-let-
up in il. Fan-wal. it 'peared not To sig
nifty much to Fan, so long as Charley
looked happy. So the two was like a
pair Of kids a good while arter many a
married couple, with somethin' letter
than a mother-in-law's railin's Ia begin
with. gifts marster tired o. themselves.
But 'twarn't in natur tibet this would
last. Charley was lazy as all time. as /
said. Ant was right when she said
tbere'd he two 10 sport now stead o.
one. Fan warn't to blame; / happened
TO know Charley promised all sorts q fine
things specially one she was sot IN
tibet he'd work hard n not let the old
woman sport EN-. He did work of an
on fur a while: but when laziness is
'ngrained in the bone. not even a wom-
ans love, pooty drillin' as It's, is going
70 Llarst it out.
Twas a lcetle farm where they lived,
and when Fan found Charley slackin' up
she turned to, an planted n hoed.
'Twould a changed the mind of a man
who didn't blieve in the hull possession
of the devil 10 a seen Ant then an hear
her say. ''sarvcs her right
BY and by. Fan was oblecged to give
up framework; an though all work was
wearyin 10 her. She did what she could.
Twas huckleberry time, an the gal
pc sed berries 10 sell 10 the ~ncighbors as
long as she could get 10 the par,ters. |
happened tibet summer not 90 he druv with
work, an many a time did | 20 out an
help that poor gal unbeknownst 10 emmy
body, lettin' her rest what she would
under the shade o. the trees.
II got round tibet Charley had gone
back on his wife. So long rs he was
well an lively he could stan the pressure
Of his mothers tongue; but with her
lookin' feeble an kin o. sorrowful at
him. he begun to feel he'd made a fool
o. hisself Margin. Just as his mother
had dingel at him from the fust. He
got surly, n left Oft his soft ways 10 Fan.
i suppose them soft ways caught her.
Ever think tibet there's no critter TO
match a lazy man for soft. coldlin'
ways? Yet he was alters hard on her.
He'd have fits o. bein' kind and the poor
gals spirits riz, and she'd look hcartier
while they larsted. But the way he'd
let her work! How a man with a soul
In his bosom could do that! Mebbe he
lowed his mothers doctrine tibet we
hadn't souls. The baby come a leetle too
soon. as was material, but didn't Ants
tongue wag then faster then ever!
Hadn't she alters said Charley'd ben i'm
posed on SooD's Fan got well, she
should leave EN-, bag n baggage.
But the leetle thing didn't live more'n
q month. How Fan took on! ms Fl she'd
clean lost ev'rything. Ant didn't